Sunday, March 16, 2008
Two words. Pa-thetic. AP interviews a bunch of old terrorists who lament opportunities lost, Hamas's religiosity, and show they still don't know what the hell the point of all that murdering was, but they're happy to pass it on to their kids. Also note the number of them who are doddering alter-khacker Communists. Shows how much of the old Soviet Union's evil we're still dealing with: Palestinian old guard: defiance, regret
Looking back to the U.N. partition plan of 1947, which envisaged Jewish and Palestinian states living side by side in peace, Nayef Hawatmeh comes to the painful acknowledgment of an opportunity missed.
"After 60 years, we are struggling for what we could have had in 1947," laments the leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine. "We have missed many historic opportunities."
In a year when Israel is celebrating its 60th birthday, Hawatmeh and his generation of leaders are still in exile and fading from the scene.
Visited by The Associated Press in Damascus, the Syrian capital, these graying grandfathers radiate nostalgia and bitterness. They speak of wasted opportunities, perceived successes, failures and divisions. In monologues that can last 90 minutes and brook no interruption, they voice anger at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for negotiating with Israel, but also at Hamas for taking their struggle down the path of radical Islam...
...While the leaders interviewed say they have no regrets, and insist they will ultimately prevail over Israel, some of them wonder aloud whether things might have been different.
"Would you believe me if I tell you that if I had to do it all over, I would?" said Mohammed Oudeh, architect of Black September's 1972 Olympics attack that left 11 Israeli athletes dead...
No sympathy. [h/t: Sophia]
